1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for liquefying natural gas. In another aspect, the invention concerns a method and apparatus for removing a contaminant from a closed-loop refrigeration cycle employed in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The cryogenic liquefaction of natural gas is routinely practiced as a means of converting natural gas into a more convenient form for transportation and/or storage. Generally, liquefaction of natural gas reduces its volume by about 600-fold, thereby resulting in a liquefied product that can be readily stored and transported at near atmospheric pressure.
Natural gas is frequently transported by pipeline from the supply source to a distant market. It is desirable to operate the pipeline under a substantially constant and high load factor, but often the deliverability or capacity of the pipeline will exceed demand while at other times the demand will exceed the deliverability of the pipeline. In order to shave off the peaks where demand exceeds supply or the valleys where supply exceeds demand, it is desirable to store the excess gas in such a manner that it can be delivered as the market dictates. Such practice allows future demand peaks to be met with material from storage. One practical means for doing this is to convert the gas to a liquefied state for storage and to then vaporize the liquid as demand requires.
The liquefaction of natural gas is of even greater importance when transporting gas from a supply source that is separated by great distances from the candidate market, and a pipeline either is not available or is impractical. This is particularly true where transport must be made by ocean-going vessels. Ship transportation of natural gas in the gaseous state is generally not practical because appreciable pressurization is required to significantly reduce the specific volume of the gas, and such pressurization requires the use of more expensive storage containers.
In view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to store and transport natural gas in the liquid state at approximately atmospheric pressure. In order to store and transport natural gas in the liquid state, the natural gas is cooled to −240° F. to −260° F. where the liquefied natural gas (LNG) possesses a near-atmospheric vapor pressure. Numerous systems exist in the prior art for the liquefaction of natural gas in which the gas is liquefied by sequentially passing the gas at an elevated pressure through a plurality of cooling stages whereupon the gas is cooled to successively lower temperatures until the liquefaction temperature is reached. Cooling is generally accomplished by indirect heat exchange with one or more refrigerants such as propane, propylene, ethane, ethylene, methane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or combinations of the preceding refrigerants (e.g., mixed refrigerant systems). A liquefaction methodology which may be particularly applicable to one or more embodiments of the present invention employs an open methane cycle for the final refrigeration cycle wherein a pressurized LNG-bearing stream is flashed and the flash vapors are subsequently employed as cooling agents, recompressed, cooled, combined with the processed natural gas feed stream and liquefied thereby producing the pressurized LNG-bearing stream.
Over time, concentrations of unwanted components can build up in circulating refrigerant streams of closed-loop refrigeration cycles employed in an LNG facility. These contaminants can enter the system through equipment failure and impure make-up refrigerant. When the concentration of contaminant becomes too high, the performance of the refrigeration cycle can be adversely impacted. One proposed method of managing contaminants in a closed-loop refrigerant stream involves periodically purging and replacing a small volume of refrigerant from the refrigeration cycle. The disposal and make-up refrigerant costs involved with this method of contaminant handling can be very high, especially for large LNG facilities. Another proposed solution is to purchase only high-purity make-up refrigerant. Not only is this proposed solution expensive due to the high cost of premium refrigerant, but it may also be logistically unfeasible, depending on plant location and other related factors. Yet another proposed solution is to perform a complete change-out and replacement of the contaminated stream with new refrigerant. This method, however, is time-consuming, expensive, and typically requires a plant shut down.
Thus, a need exists for a simple, flexible, cost-effective system for removing contaminants from a closed-loop refrigeration cycle in an LNG facility.